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Broken Social Scene: Albums
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Visiting the website for Broken Social Scene would make you feel as if you're the only person in existence to know about this collection of talented Canadian musicians. It would ... be a bloody crime to be that person and not let someone else know about the goldmine that is just sitting there waiting to be liberated. You Forgot It in People is one of the most incredible albums to come out of Canada in a very long time. Hell, it's one of the best albums to come out of anywhere, really. Take the entire list of last years top critically acclaimed albums, shove them all in a blender, and hit liquefy. The resulting drink is basically what you're going to get when you put this album into your player of choice.
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After releasing their critically hailed You Forgot It In People, Broken Social Scene toured the world and took their time in releasing a true follow-up. To tide over fans, they dropped a b-sides collection last year called Bee Hives that had some decent tracks, but wasn't outstanding, and in the meantime the group recorded and recorded and recorded. Rumours told of the group having over three albums worth of material tracked, and they finally broke their silence a couple months ago in announcing a new release.
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Listening for literal meaning in Broken Social Scene's music is often beside the point. The clearest-sounding vocal on its 2005 CD is built on the refrain "If you always get up late, you'll never be on time." Better to give in to the happy, driving beat and the singer's sharp, feminine coolness. Close listening — or lyric-Googling — reveals a darkness in other songs. On "Lover's Spit," the spare sound leaves the singer (a man on a 2002 album version, a woman on a rarities collection) at the center, singing such literally confusing but poetically clear lyrics as "They listen to teeth to learn how to quit," evoking lonely dread after too many temporary encounters. Most often, the sound's emotions overwhelm the lyrics. "It's All Gonna Break," the latest album's closer, starts with vulgar anger you might miss because the song sounds so joyous.
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Broken Social Scene opens up with the incredibly strong "Our Faces Split the Coast in Half." A reverb-laden bass cascades over the shimmering percussion as muted vocal tracks collide until the somewhat haphazard instrumentation suddenly coalesces into a remarkably moving track. It kicks things off with a bang and further sets the tone for the rest of the album. I dare you to listen to "Our Faces" and not smile.
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Throughout the blending of genres Broken Social Scene manages to keep the music upbeat. With poppy songs like ‘Almost Crimes,’ ‘Cause Time’ and ‘Looks Just Like the Sun’ this is a perfect summer time album. However, Going back and forth between male and female singers, slow paced and fast paced this is an album that is sure to last much longer than just this summer.
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Anyone's who's been to a Broken Social Scene show over the past few years probably knows "Major Label Debut" as a rollicking, open hi-hat dust storm. But here, that version is relegated to an accompanying EP (otherwise filled with mostly expendable outtakes and instrumentals) while the album version is slowed down and fogged up-- and decidedly less single-worthy. Another live favorite and possible crossover contender, "Superconnected", is still catchy on record, but Newfeld's all-at-once, in-between-vox production subverts any chance at overt smashdom.
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